In Kate Chopin’s novel The Awakening, the protagonist Edna Pontellier experiences internal conflict throughout her journey towards self-discovery. The juxtaposition of the two settings in which Edna finds herself makes her more aware of society’s flaws, causing her to distance herself from it in solitude, as a fruitless attempt to avoid suppression. Along with the setting itself, there is constant repetition of various symbols and imagery, such as that of the sea and birds, which serve to represent Edna’s gradual progression towards discovering her essential self and ultimately her spiritual awakening. In The Awakening, Edna’s internal conflict is depicted through her dual nature in two vastly different settings: New Orleans and Grand Isle.…show more content… She feels imprisoned by the world she formerly thought of as her home, “Edna looked straight before her with a self-absorbed expression upon her face. She felt no interest in anything about her. The street, the children, the fruit vender, the flowers growing, there under her eyes, were all part and parcel of an alien world which had suddenly become antagonistic.” (Chopin 89-90). Even the most arbitrary objects in her city are perceived differently by Edna upon her return, and she wants nothing more than to rebel against societal constraints. She does this by neglecting her Tuesday duties, engaging in walks unescorted, and pursuing relationships with Alcee Arobin and Robert Lebrun. The domestic harmony present throughout her return to New Orleans showcases Edna’s realization that the disharmony she feels exists in her relationship with herself. She becomes aware that this disharmony is caused by her role as mother, and begins to view her children as antagonists who are overpowering her, and thereby forcing her to submit to the demands of society. Edna’s realization of motherhood as the ultimate construct she must escape from foreshadows the ending of the novel, when she escapes her motherly obligations in the only way she possibly can – by killing
